HRM: Chapter 8

Employee Development

Combination of formal education, job experiences, relationships, and assessment of personality and abilities to help employees prepare for the future of their careers.

Protean Career

A career that frequently changes based on changes in a person's interests, abilities, values, and the work environment.

Formal Education

Includes workshops, short courses, lectures, simulations, business games, experiential programs, and meetings; can occur on-site, off-site, or online.

Assessment

Collecting information and providing feedback to employees about their behavior, communication styles, and skills.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

A psychological inventory that identifies individuals' preferences for source of energy, means of information gathering, way of decision making, and lifestyle; provides information useful for team building and leadership development.

DiSC

A brand of assessment tool that identifies individuals' behavioral patterns in terms of dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness.

Assessment Center

A wide variety of specific selection programs that use multiple selection methods to rate applicants or job incumbents on their management potential.

Leaderless Group Discussion

An assessment center exercise in which a team of five to seven employees is assigned to a problem and must work together to solve it within a certain time period.

Performance Appraisal

A formal process for measuring employee performance.

360-Degree Feedback

Performance measurement by an employee's supervisor, peers, employees, and clients.

Job Experiences

A combination of relationships, problems, demands, tasks, and other features of an employee's job; most employee development occurs here.

Job Assignment

The allocation of specific duties or roles to an employee as part of their job experience and development.

Job Enlargement

Increasing the variety of tasks performed by an employee to enhance skill development and motivation.

Job Rotation

Moving employees through a series of job assignments in different areas of the company to broaden their experience.

Transfer

Assignment of an employee to a position in a different area of the company, usually a lateral move.

Promotion

Moving an employee into a position with greater challenges, more responsibility, and more authority than in the previous job.

Downward Move

Occurs when an employee is given less responsibility and authority, often as part of a developmental opportunity.

Externship

A full-time temporary position at another organization that provides exposure to new experiences and skills.

Sabbatical

A leave of absence from an organization to renew or develop skills.

Interpersonal Relationships

A developmental approach in which employees build skills and gain knowledge through interaction with experienced members of the organization.

Mentor

An experienced, productive senior employee who helps develop a less experienced employee (a protégé).

Coach

A peer or manager who motivates an employee, helps them develop skills, and provides reinforcement and feedback.

Self-Assessment

The use of information by employees to determine their career interests, values, aptitudes, and behavioral tendencies.

Feedback

Information employers give employees about their skills and knowledge and where these assets fit into the organization's plans.

Goal Setting

The process of determining career objectives such as desired positions, skill levels, work settings, and skill acquisition goals.

Action Planning

The process by which employees prepare an action plan to achieve career goals, often combining multiple development methods.

Career Development Plan

A formalized outcome of the action planning process that outlines steps to achieve career goals.

Succession Planning

The process of identifying and tracking high-potential employees who can fill key management positions when they become vacant.

Glass Ceiling

Circumstances resembling an invisible barrier that keep most women and minorities from attaining top jobs in the organization.

Dysfunctional Managers

Managers who may be competent in some areas but engage in behaviors that make them ineffective or toxic, such as insensitivity to others, arrogance, poor conflict management, or inability to adapt to change.